Beijing West Railway Station, or Beijing West for short, was completed in early 1996. It is one of three major railway stations in Beijing. The station is near the West 3rd Ring Road, and you can get there easily by bus, metro, or taxi.

Guide Map of Beijing West

Beijing West Railway Station has two access squares: North Square (in front, popular access) and South Square (behind, less-used). They are connected by underground passages of up to 500 meters.

The second floor (F2): It has waiting rooms, stores, restaurants, a left-luggage office, a luggage porter service, a medical center, and a ticket office selling group tickets and tickets to Hong Kong. The entrances of South Square and North Square are both equipped with escalators.

The first floor (F1): It has an entrance and exits, a ticket office, a luggage consignment office, a luggage claim office, a joint Entry-Exit Inspection Hall, and platforms.

Beijing West Station's Ticket Office, Entrances, and Exits

The ticket windows sell tickets 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can go there in person to buy tickets with your valid passport. Or you can book Beijing train tickets online, and then collect the tickets there.

North Square — Closer to the Waiting Room

North Square

Usually, people enter Beijing West from North Square because the transportation is more convenient from the city center, and it is closer to attractions and hotels in the city.

The ticket office is in the east wing of F1 (windows 1 and 2 sell tickets to Kowloon, Hong Kong).

The main entrance (F1) is in the middle of the south side of North Square.

There are two exits at North Square (North Exit 1, 2). The two exits are interlinked.

South Square — More Convenient to Take a Taxi to the City Center

South Square is a newly built square and is not very crowded. It is further away from attractions and hotels in Beijing city center than North Square. If you are taking a high-speed train from other cities, such as Xi'an to Beijing, the exits at South Square are more convenient for you.

Location: on Guanglian Road, east of Lianhuachi Park

There are two ticket offices in both the east and west wing of F1.

There are three exits at South Square, which are convenient for high-speed trains (South Exit 1, 2, 3). The three exits are interlinked.

If you are being collected by a friend or your tour guide, you'd better tell him/her which exit to wait at in advance.

Find the Right Waiting Room — English Signs Available

A waiting room at Beijing West Railway Station

The waiting rooms are all on F2. Numbers 1 to 7 are used for normal speed trains (K, T, and Z trains), while numbers 8 to 13 are designed for high-speed trains (G and D trains).

To Lhasa, Tibet: The T27 waiting room is specifically for passengers waiting for the T27 train, which runs to Tibet.

You may still be worried about losing your way when trying to find your waiting room. Fortunately, English signs are on display so you can easily find your way to your waiting room.

There is a large LED screen that displays train schedules and corresponding waiting rooms in order of departure times, making it convenient for you to find out which waiting room to go.

Alternatively, you can ask staff members or other passengers for help. Below is a Chinese phrase that you can show them:

Chinese: 请问我应该去哪个候车室?

English: Excuse me. Could you tell me which waiting room I should go to?

Water and washroom: There is a washroom with hot water at the entrance to each waiting room.

Arrive Early

Beijing West Railway Station is a large railway station. It is recommended that you arrive at the station 1–2 hours before your train's departure time.

Check-in time: The ticket check-in procedure usually begins half an hour before the departure time and stops 5 minutes before departure. Please be sure to be at the check-in gate at least 5 minutes before the departure time.

Facilities and Services at Beijing West Railway Station

Medical center: Don't feel well? There is a Considerate Medical Center between waiting rooms 6 and 7. If you do not feel well while you are waiting, you can see some professional medical personnel and get commonly used drugs for medical care.

Left-luggage office: You can leave your baggage at the left-luggage office, situated on both sides of the escalators near the entrance, and you need to collect it within 24 hours.

Luggage checking office: The luggage checking office is at the east side of North Square (across from the bus terminal). You need to arrange to have your luggage checked using your paper ticket.

Luggage claim: You can claim your luggage at the west side of North Square.

Luggage porters: If your baggage is too heavy to carry by yourself, you can find a "red cap" (staff members wearing red caps or red jackets) luggage porter to help you take it on your train, for a reasonable fee (5–10 yuan per piece). The "Red Cap" Luggage Service Center is at the entrance to the waiting rooms.

Transportation — Beijing West to Other Stations, to the Airport, and to Attractions

Leaving the Station by Taxi

Passengers can get taxis at the Taxi Dispatch Center in B2 and B1, east of the north exit.

There is another Taxi Dispatch Center under the east helical ramp of North Square. Due to the heavy traffic on Beijing West Railway Station's North Square, there are no official taxi lanes on the street in front of the square. Taxis are not supposed to stop there, but taxis do go there to pick up passengers anyway.

Taxi Fares

A taxi fare in Beijing starts at 10 yuan for up to 3 kilometers during the daytime (05:00–22:59), and 11 yuan at night (23:00–04:59). For 3–15 kilometers, it is 2 yuan per kilometer. For a journey of over 15 kilometers, it is 3 yuan per kilometer with an additional 50% if it is a one-way trip.

then transfer Line 4 straight to Beijing South Railway Station (Chinese: 北京南站, 2 stops).

Bus Special 14 (特14路) can also take passengers to Beijing South Railway Station.

To Beijing North Railway Station (北京北 Beijing Bei): 40 minutes

Beijing North Railway Station was formerly known as Xizhimen Railway Station (Chinese: 西直门站).

Take Subway Line 7 to Caishikou Station (Chinese: 菜市口站, 4 stops)

then transfer Line 4 to Xizhimen Station (Chinese: 西直门), find A1 exit and walk to Beijing North Railway Station

Transportation to Beijing Capital International Airport

Take the Beijing West Railway Station Line (No.7) in South Square (in front of China Railway Express, 中铁快运). The buses run every 30 minutes from 5:10am to 9pm. The journey takes about 2 hours and costs 16 yuan.

Transportation to Main Attractions by Subway / Public Bus

The Forbidden City

To Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City:40 minutes

Take subway Line 9 to Military Museum Station (军事博物馆站, 1 stop ),

transfer subway Line 1 to Tian'anmen Dong (天安门东站, 6 stops), Exit A at the northwest side